Who we are

September 25, 2015

The Open Data Charter is a collaboration between governments and experts working to open up data. It was founded in 2015 around six principles for how governments should be publishing information. The aspiration was that data should be open by default, timely and interoperable. More than 70 governments and organisations have joined the movement. Read the full principles here.

The Charter’s goal is to embed a culture and practice of openness in governments in ways that are resilient to change through opening up data.

At the beginning of 2017, the Open Data Charter created a small team of four to support the Charter. The Charter is overseen by an advisory board, the Lead Stewards, made up of representatives from government and expert organisations. A broader network of General Stewards supports the work of the movement, including through participating in the two Charter working groups. The Charter is an independent programme based at our fiscal sponsor, the Fund for the City of New York.

The Team

Ania Calderon @aniacalderon, Executive Director,led the national open data policy in Mexico for the past 3 years, delivering a key presidential mandate on opening up government data in more than 200 public institutions and a network of over 40 cities in Mexico and strengthening open data commitments globally.

Ania will provide overall leadership for the team. She will develop goals and strategies to advance its mission, promote the Charter at the highest levels and provide sound fundraising systems and financial management for the success of the organisation.

Liz Carolan @lizcarolan, Strategy and Programme Director, is a leading open data policy expert who has supported leaders from over 30 countries to implement open data in their governments. She built the ODI’s international development practice, having developed and delivered governance programmes for the Institute for Government, and the Africa Governance Initiative.

Liz will lead on the development of the Charter’s strategy and will be responsible for developing the sector package programme.

Robert Palmer @robertnpalmer, Partnerships and Communication Director, has a track-record of building diverse coalitions to achieve substantial political change through his work combating money laundering at Global Witness.

Robert will lead on the outreach work to governments, including by scoping a strategy focused on sub-national governments and cities. He will help develop the overall narrative for the Charter and open data by leading the team’s communications work. He will also have responsibility for the anti-corruption sector package.

Our Advisory Board

The work of the Charter team is overseen by our advisory board. See here for our full governance structure.

Richard Stirling (Chair) is the co-founder and CEO of Oxford Insights. Involved in open data for the last 8 years, he designed and lead the UK’s open data programme. As innovation director at the Open Data Institute, he has worked with the World Bank, IDRC, and countries around the world on open data implementation.

Dr. Catherine Woteki is a professor at Iowa State University with over 40 years of senior management experience in both public & private sectors. Dr. Woteki served as the Chief Scientist and Under Secretary in the United States Department of Agriculture under the Obama administration (2010–2016). Here, she instituted the USDA’s first scientific integrity and open data policies; and was instrumental in establishing and implementing the US government open data policies in food and agriculture programs.

Craig Fagan is the Policy Director at the World Wide Web Foundation and leads the policy work on digital equality and citizen participation programmes. Craig has a wealth of expertise in governance, transparency, development, and using technology for social change.

Enrique Zapata is General Director of Open Data at the Coordination of National Digital Strategy in the Office of the President of Mexico. He is responsible for Mexico’s open data policy. Enrique represents Mexico at various international mechanisms such as the OECD and the G20. He holds an MPP from the University of Oxford and a BA in International Relations from Universidad Iberoamericana.

Fabrizio Scrollini is the Executive Director of the Open Data Latin American Initiative (ILDA). Fabrizio works with governments, regulators and civil society at both international and regional levels on transparency, access to public information, open data projects and public sector reform.

Gonzalo Iglesias is the representative of the Government of Argentina and host to the Open Data Charter, as they prepare to welcome the world to the 5th International Open Data Conference in Buenos Aires on 20–21 September, 2018. He is the National Director of Data and Public Information in the Ministry of Modernisation for the Government of Argentina.

José M. Alonso is the Director of Digital citizenship at the World Wide Web Foundation. He is is an Open Data pioneer and advocate with extensive experience in the eGovernment and Web standards fields.

Muchiri Nyaggah is the Executive Director of the Local Development Research Institute (LDRI), an action-oriented think tank supporting efforts of African Union member states to end extreme poverty, end hunger and reduce inequalities. Muchiri is also a Senior Fellow at the Results for Development Institute where he provides guidance on data for decision-making projects. His work contributes to the strengthening of efforts to leverage data and data-informed strategies to solve real-world problems.

Nosa Ero-Brown is the Director of Ontario’s Open Government Office with a mandate to lead the development and execution of an open government strategy for Ontario’s Public Service. Nosa led the development and implementation of Ontario’s open data policy; and championed the efforts for Ontario to adopt the Charter and join the Open Government Partnership. These efforts were awarded with the highest organisational recognition at the Canadian Open Data Excellence Award 2017.

Sander van der Waal is the Head of Network and Partnerships at the Open Knowledge International (OKI), where he focuses on strengthening connections between the projects at OKI and the wider Open Knowledge Network. He does this together with the team that’s responsible for the areas of Research, Communications, and Community Management.

Sumandro Chattapadhyay is the Director of Research at the Centre for Internet and Society where he leads and contributes to academic, creative, and policy research.

Thom Townsend is a Senior Policy Advisor at the Cabinet Office. His role entails understanding how business can support the strategic policy goals of the UK government.

Allison O’Beirne (past Board member) is an analyst with the Open Government Team in the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. In this role, Allison focuses on the development and implementation of open government initiatives by governments across Canada and around the world.

If you are interested in becoming a Charter Steward, see the steps outlined in the FAQ on becoming involved as a Steward.

The Open Data Charter Working Groups

Implementation Working Group– Develops tools and resources to support governments in the implementation of Charter principles, and promote and facilitate peer learning across signatory countries and organizations.

If you represent a government, civil society organization, private sector or multilateral working on open data and wish to participate in the Open Data Charter’s working groups, please send an email to info@opendatacharter.net.